


making a home

by elsironwing



Category: Iron Fist (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Moving In Together, Yeah that's it, still can't title things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 12:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15908670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsironwing/pseuds/elsironwing
Summary: “Are you asking me to move in with you?”“I guess? Yes.”“Danny, we already live together.”“Right.”(danny and colleen and moving in together, basically)





	making a home

**Author's Note:**

> I got sick of writing it and trying to edit it so here it is. This was a prompt fill, for something along these lines, but I don't know anymore. This is the one I wanted to get out before s2, so this is the last you will be seeing of me before s2 drops. It's basically just fluff! Minimal sadness, mostly at the beginning.

Colleen used to love her dojo. This was a pretty obvious fact - even Danny had noticed that when he had only known her for a short amount of time. It hadn't mattered all that much to her that the pipes were leaky sometimes or the door broken, or any number of what a lot of people would consider flaws. She'd still loved it. 

But now, Danny is pretty sure that that's no longer the case. That maybe now, she doesn't love it as much as she used to. She hasn't said anything, but he's noticed that she avoids being in the dojo, sticking more to the apartment side. And that even though he's continued to utilize the space - meditating, training, trying to stay focused - she hasn't been. It's little things that most people wouldn't really have found strange, but having lived with Colleen for a while now, he notices it pretty quickly. It’s unlike her, and it’s a little bit worrying. 

They're sitting down at the table eating leftover takeout, and he's spent half the time just poking at the food. It's not that it tastes bad, he's just thinking about other things, about Colleen, wondering if he should bring it up. He’s been thinking about it maybe a bit too much today. 

“You're distracted,” Colleen says after a minute of silence, and he looks up and frowns. “Something wrong?”

He only hesitates for a moment before deciding  _ to hell with it _ . 

“You don't like this place anymore.” he says, hurrying to explain when she gives him a confused look. “The dojo. You used to love it - anyone could see that. But you don't anymore, do you?” 

She sighs, looks away, and he gives her a moment to gather her thoughts. “No.” she pauses again, frowning, like she’s not quite sure how to explain. “This place… I used to think it was something good. I loved it because of what I did here, because I thought I was helping those kids.” 

She looks sad, tired, a look that's been all too familiar recently. He's half tempted to get up and hug her but refrains, giving her a chance to finish talking first. 

“And now?”

“I was training soldiers for the Hand, Danny.  _ Child _ soldiers. I loved those kids - they were all so  _ good _ , and I thought that I was helping them. I wasn't. Honestly? I probably ruined their lives. And I did that  _ here _ , in this dojo.” She looks away. “So yeah. It's just… hard to be here, right now.” 

He nods, because  _ yeah _ , that makes sense. He's known that Colleen has been beating herself up over that, feels guilty, even if she hasn't said so much in words. The past few months she’s been managing, for the most part, to keep it together about that. He knows that it’s hurting her though, that reality. 

She doesn’t seem to want to talk anymore, and he doesn’t press it.

 

\----

 

What she said a few nights ago gets him thinking, about things he hadn't necessarily thought about before, not really. Partly because they haven't actually been together that long, not quite a year yet, and partly because they’ve just had a lot of other things going on. The possibility of moving in together, somewhere besides the dojo. Someplace that they decide on, together, a place to make a home. 

He's not sure what she'd think of the idea, and not entirely sure if he's ready to ask. Eventually, though, he comes to the conclusion that it doesn't hurt to at least bring it up. 

They're in bed, and it’s late, and he's got her curled up against his side, her head resting on his chest, completely relaxed. He presses a kiss against the top of her head, lingering for a minute while he gathers his thoughts. 

“I've been thinking about something,” he starts, unsure, and she shifts a little at his side. 

“About what?” she seems to pick up on his hesitation, moves her hand to grab his and squeezes it gently, a gesture which he appreciates. 

“Have you ever thought about finding somewhere else? To live, I mean. I was just thinking that, well… I could probably find an apartment, here in Chinatown still.” he hesitates again, absentmindedly running his thumb across the back of her hand. 

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” She sounds a little amused. 

“I guess? Yes.” 

“Danny, we already live together.” 

“Right.” he pauses. “Technically I'm asking if you would want to move into somewhere else,  _ together _ .”

She's quiet for a moment, and he tries not to be tense, because it  _ is _ a lot. Especially for the fact that it's still fairly early in their relationship, and he's not stupid - he knows that this is a commitment, something big, and something that would likely be more difficult to figure out. 

“It's definitely not the worst idea,” she begins. “I'd be open to at least looking around for places. This would be very different, Danny. Right now, we live together pretty much just because you haven't wanted to find anywhere else. I don't mind it, I  _ like _ having you here, but this would be different, making this decision.” 

“I know that. And I'm not saying that it would necessarily be easy, either. There's already challenges living together, but I do like the idea of finding somewhere else, choosing that. Finding someplace to make a home,  _ together _ .” he pulls her a little closer. “I mean, I know it's still early in the relationship, I guess, but…” 

“No, I get it. I understand where you're coming from and I like the idea of it, it's just definitely not something to jump into unprepared. We can at least look at a few places.” 

“Not right this minute, though,” he says, shifting into a more comfortable position, Colleen still tucked up against his side. “I just wanted to say something.” 

“Tomorrow,” she agrees, wrapping her arm back across his chest. He kisses the top of her head again, smiling, once again relieved that she's here with him. Maybe this isn't the worst idea he's ever had. 

  
  


\---

 

And he does look, the next day, searching to see if anything happened to be available. It is just him and Colleen, it's not like they need a lot of space, and honestly both of them are more comfortable in a smaller, more simple place. It's why the temporary apartment he'd been staying in for a bit had always been so off putting. 

He finds a few and keeps the listings pulled up to show Colleen. They're all in Chinatown still, since he knows that Colleen does like it here, and so does he. It's always felt more welcoming than the rest of the city, more  _ familiar,  _ in a way, and he's not in any hurry to leave it.

When she gets out of the shower he's sitting on the end of the bed waiting, computer on his lap, checking through the listings he'd found again. There’s a few that are okay, and a couple more that stand out, but he definitely wants her opinion on it. 

“Hey, come look at these,” he says, scooting over so there's room for her to sit next to him. She does, leaning into his space a little while he pulls up the first apartment he'd found, clicking through the pictures. 

She's mostly silent until he gets to the third one. It's styled almost the same way as her dojo, but still a little different. An open and comfortable looking main room, lots of windows, and a separate kitchen area and bedroom. 

“This one actually looks like it belongs in Chinatown,” she comments as he scrolls through the pictures again. It  _ does _ , and it's the one that had stood out most to him. Familiar in its style like the dojo, and not overly large, it just seemed inviting. Well, as inviting as an empty apartment could look. 

“I can call and set up a time to look at it, likely sometime next week.” He says, looking over at her. 

“Doesn't hurt to at least see it.” She pulls the computer over onto her lap to read some of the actual specifics about it while Danny gets his phone. 

 

\---

 

The place is almost more inviting than it had looked in the pictures, and he’s comfortable from the moment he steps in the door after Colleen and the real estate agent. The main room is open and nice sized, and he likes that - the openness. There’s lots of windows on the wall across from the door, and the natural light is always nice. 

He’s only half listening to what the agent is saying (Colleen, thankfully, seems to be paying more attention) as he steps further into the room, coming to stand in the middle of it. They  _ had _ looked at one just before this, because that’s how they could get it scheduled, but the other one just hadn’t seemed right. The fact that he’s immediately comfortable even in this empty apartment seems like a good thing. He can’t tell if Colleen feels the same, but he does notice that she’s more relaxed here than at the last one. 

He follows the two of them into the kitchen, which isn’t all that large, but it’s  _ nice _ . Considering that he and Colleen can hardly stand in the dojo apartment’s kitchen at the same time while trying to move around, this is much better. Still simple, though, which he’s always liked.

The rest of the apartment is just as nice, as comfortable, one bedroom off of the main room and a bathroom off of that. The whole place feels open and large, despite only being just a few rooms. He likes it, certainly better than the one before, and as soon as he has a moment he pulls Colleen away from the agent (who apparently likes to talk, a  _ lot _ ) to stand in the kitchen. 

“Thoughts?” He asks. 

“I like it, more than the last one, anyway.” she looks back out towards the main room. “It feels like somewhere that could be home.” 

“That’s what I was thinking,” he says, smiling a little. “We can talk about it more later.” They had discussed it more over the weekend while waiting to come see this one, and the idea felt better and better to Danny now. 

 

\---

 

“I did like it, but Danny… this is a huge commitment,” Colleen says. 

“I know. And I definitely want to be one hundred percent sure about this before we do anything.” 

“I know we already live together, but this is different, and almost feels like something that we aren't  _ able _ to handle yet, if that makes sense.” She's fiddling with the blanket on the bed, looks up at him. “And it's not because we haven't even been together a year yet. Hell, most of the time it feels like it's been a lot longer than that.” 

“I get what you're saying, but. I don't know, it just feels… like a good thing. A  _ right _ thing.” He says, not entirely sure how to explain the feeling to her. 

“It does.” she agrees. 

“I’d like to make a home with you, somewhere we choose together, even if we wait longer to do that. I mean, wherever you are  _ is _ home, but I like that… idea, of making someplace together. Even if it's months or years down the road from now before we do that, I won't lie, it's something I'd love to do.” He means it, every word, and she smiles a bit as he says it. 

“I'd like that, too.” she starts. “How about we go look at it again. Discuss some things,  _ then _ consider a decision.  _ Cohabitation _ isn't the easiest thing in the world, but I'm up for the challenge.” she's smiling again, and he can't help but lean forward to kiss her, happy when she immediately reciprocates.  _ Yes _ , he thinks,  _ I could spend the rest of my life with her. _

 

\---

 

The next week is a blur, honestly. Involving a lot more discussion, voicing concerns, seeing the apartment again. And at the end of that week, coming to the conclusion that  _ yes _ , this is something they both want to do. He's a little anxious about it, and he knows that Colleen feels the same.

And before he knows it, and lots of paperwork later, he's standing next to Colleen in the empty apartment that now belongs to them. She's grabbed his hand, and he gently squeezes it before pulling her closer, looking around the room. 

It wasn't a decision they'd come to lightly, and had talked every aspect of it over. He's not sure that he's entirely prepared for this, but for once the future feels exciting. And he's got Colleen by his side to face it, as it should be. 

He looks over at her and smiles, which she returns, stepping closer into his side and letting him wrap an arm around her shoulders. It feels right. 

 

\---

 

The biggest challenge he expected to face was certainly not this - putting together furniture. But the instructions are stupid and not all that good, so he's mostly  _ guessing _ at how it goes together, and he's completely confused. He's sitting on the floor with the pieces of the bookshelf in front of him, the instructions and tools beside him, and not a clue at how it's meant to go together. 

“I agree, these instructions are shit,” Colleen comments, sitting on the floor near him and looking at the pages. 

“I know what it's supposed to look like, at least. Maybe we can figure it out from the picture?” he suggests, ignoring the fact that he's still got to figure out which screws go where. 

It was an unspoken, unanimous decision that this was something they'd do themselves - putting together the furniture, setting up the apartment. It would've been easy to have someone else do it, but he'd been enjoying the days and evenings spent here whenever they weren't too busy, working on it together. They'd already got some of the basics - a bed so they could at least stay here, there's some food and essentials in the kitchen, and a nice sofa in the main room. But there's still a lot more to get done. 

“Start with the outside pieces, maybe?” she suggests, grabbing the instructions and flipping through them. “It looks like that's what they're doing here. Or maybe the base - attach the wheels? Yeah, these are shit.” 

“Eh, we’ll figure it out. How badly could we screw this up, anyway?” he says, attempting to sound confident as he stands up and grabs what he's mostly sure is the base piece. 

“Realistically? Very badly.” Colleen points out. 

“I'm trying to be optimistic.”

“In that case, I have complete faith in our ability to do this.” She says, deadpan voice. 

He just laughs. 

 

\---

 

They do, eventually, figure it out, along with everything else. It takes a couple of weeks, but in the end it’s all worth it. The apartment really feels like home, now, comfortable and a place he wants to be in. 

He's not delusional - he knows that this isn't going to be the easiest thing in the world, he knows there's going to be rough moments. But right now, he's  _ happy _ . He's sitting on the sofa with Colleen at his side, and there's a movie running in the background but he can't remember what it is, neither of them really paying any attention. Most of his focus is on Colleen now, on where she's leaning into his side and how his hand fits in hers as she fiddles with it, how everything in him wants to lean over and kiss her.  

Which leads him to the realization that there’s not really any good reason not to. He shifts a little to be able to look at her, and she smiles, seems to pick up on his intention, and it feels like they gravitate towards each other, lips meeting softly at first before she adjusts to be able to kiss him properly. 

Her lips are soft against his and it’s easy to very quickly lose himself in the feeling of her, one hand on her side and the other tangled in her hair, senses completely overwhelmed by her. She moves to sit on his lap instead, smiling into the kiss as she settles herself over him. He uses this opportunity to pull her closer, and they’re pressed together wherever possible - hips, chests, her mouth insistent against his as he runs his hand down her side to her waist. She moans slightly when his arm wraps around her waist and deepens the kiss. 

She pulls back to catch her breath after a minute, leaning her forehead to rest against his, and he shuts his eyes for a second to just soak up the moment. She presses a kiss against the corner of his mouth, one hand cupping his face now. 

Love is weird, he’s decided. It’s weird how someone he met when he was homeless in the park was now the center of his world, the one person who meant more than anything else to him, even in such a short amount of time. But here with her now, he’s absolutely certain that he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

**Author's Note:**

> So close to season 2! Who else is just really nervous but also excited? 
> 
> I think I have a couple other prompts to get to but I won't be writing anything until after I've seen s2, I can't focus on it until I have! I am absolutely here for more prompts though, always, so let me know!


End file.
